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Flowers always bloom late in the mountains, but hibiscuses take the prize. We have to wait until September to see these beautiful flowers. Actually, this year one of the bushes started blooming at the end of August. The other one will probably not bloom until October!
I took a picture of our two 4-legged girls with the beautiful flowers! Don’t they look cute? With all the rain we have had this year, the grass is the greenest it has ever been, and the dogs have had a blast running around the house.
Happy Labor Day to everyone! Which brings us to start thinking about fall. If you are planning to visit us during fall foliage season, make your reservations early, because the best times go fast.
Before you know it, the weather will start turning colder, and the leaves will start changing colors. We look forward to visiting with returning guests that are planning a fall visit!
We have been enjoying outstanding weather. Breezy days and cool nights, some cold enough to have to wear a light jacket! People are coming to visit from all the hot areas, saying they want “a break from the heat.”
The great weather has also given us some memorable sunsets and sunrises, although I can’t say too many of our guests actually see the sun rise. Most of them are happy to witness the colorful sunsets and take lots of photos.
We have also booked several October visitors, already looking ahead to the colorful fall foliage. So, if you haven’t made plans yet, come visit during Labor Day Weekend, we have openings both in the house and in the cabin.
Looking forward to some of our old guests coming back to visit soon!
 
 There are some interesting restaurants around Alluring View Bed and Breakfast, but none quite like this one. We had seen a sign that said “Wood Fired Pizza” driving thru Roan Mountain on the way to Bristol, but we thought it would certainly not be possible to find a good wood fired pizza in this neck of the woods? Then someone we know told us about the place and how good the food was. Not to expect much, because it was a real “hole in the wall” very rustic, if not primitive.
Armed with this info, we decided to turn where the sign was and take a look. Unfortunately, they were closed that day, but the place was a little scary. We went back the next time we drove by, and ordered a pizza, 2 salads and 2 drinks. It was amazingly outstanding. We sat outside on a bench, the weather was nice and we had a great time.
We also found out they bake bread twice a week and we were lucky enough, this was one of those days, so we left with about 6 loaves of bread. A delicious crusty artisan-style rye bread and a sourdough. Both were great as was the “tea cake” we bought made with strawberries and sliced almonds.
We have returned 2 more times, and the pizza is always great. They bake them one by one in a very hot oven and have ingredients like fresh mozzarella, local goat cheese, basil, fresh garlic, zucchinis and the usual toppings. If you are ever in the area, or come and stay at Alluring View B&B, give it a try! Their formal name is SMOKY MOUNTAIN BAKERS & WOOD FIRED PIZZA, which is interesting because they are located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not the Smoky Mountains. Open Tuesday thru Saturday.
 
The weather has been wonderful. Daytime highs have been in the high 70s and lows in the low 60s. Have not had rain for a while, but everything is very green. Tonight I stepped out and saw this gorgeous orange ball in the horizon. The sunset was spectacular so I took a few pictures. I can never capture the beauty as I see it, but I tried. July was a very busy month, as usual, August looks like it will be busy as well.
Glad to see old guests coming back to visit. We are expecting a couple in August that has come every single year we have been here to celebrate their anniversary! Love to see them and have a good chat. Looking forward to their visit.
I hope the good weather stays for a while!
Last Sunday we had the pleasure of getting together with friends and enjoying an outdoor bluegrass concert. The weather was quite chilly, but the music and the jokes were great. It started around 6:30pm and ended around 8 or 8:30. The band was great.
After it was over, we all went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant which has wonderful food. Puerto Nuevo in Banner Elk is one of our favorite places to eat. We had a great time and enjoyed both the concert and the company of all our friends at dinner.
These concerts are every Sunday evening in front of Fred’s on Beech Mountain. There are other outdoor concerts in the area every week. There is one in Blowing Rock on Friday evenings starting around 6pm. This entire area is blessed with many good musicians and lots of blue grass and country music!
It’s that time of the year already! The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games start tomorrow. The area is ready to welcome thousands of visitors here for the games. Alluring View B&B is fully booked, and all our guests arrive tomorrow. There are still some available cabins, so if you want to come, contact us.
Today we drove by and saw the port-o-lets set up near the bus stops. There were a lot of cars on the otherwise quiet streets, revealing that many people are already here.
Besides the Highland Games, there is also a music festival in Sugar Grove. For information on that, check out, musicfestnsugargrove.org.
And last, but not least is the half marathon that goes from Jonas Ridge to Mortimer. It is called the SCREAM. You can get information about that race at, www.thescream.blueridgemultisports.com.
It will definitely be a busy week, much like last week.
Let the fun begin!!!
The 4th of July brought a packed house with guests from The Netherlands, South Florida and Myrtle Beach. On top of that we had family in town which also came over, so we were busy. There were parades and fireworks all around. Guests did not get home until around midnight on the 4th and again last night.
We managed to escape to the parade in Banner Elk, where we met the lovely alpacas from Apple Hill Farm, one of the area attractions. You can actually tour this working alpaca farm. All the animals were dressed up for the 4th of July with their patriotic ribbons! They looked adorable! Here are some photos.
After that we went to Frontier BBQ for a delicious lunch. This is a new BBQ place in Banner Elk, where Pappy’s used to be. The food is outstanding. Everyone enjoyed it! Our guests continued to other parades and then to see the fireworks, before everyone went to sleep.
All our guests this week went horseback trail riding with Danny from Always Riding Stables. They are located right here in the neighborhood. The stables are less than a mile away, and they take you on 1.5-hour rides. Most places only do 1-hour rides. On busy weekends and holidays you do need to make a reservation, because they book up fast.   
Today, one group is being brave and going rafting. That is a lot of fun, although scary for those that don’t know how to swim. Another group visited Linville Falls and Grandfather Mountain and took endless photos and had a great picnic on top of the world!
All of them have done so much this week, they will need to relax when they get home to recuperate! And we have no break, as Sunday we already start with guests for the Highland Games which are next week. July is a busy time in this area! Our weather has been great with very cool evenings where some people needed sweaters.
We have slowly been working since last fall on remodeling one room and making it a bedroom/suite. It is now completed and has been inaugurated.
The first guests loved it! It has an amazing view with lots of long windows in 2 different directions. It is a cozy, woodsy room, with rustic log and tongue and groove. It is on the main floor with easy access, and is very spacious. We hope many guests enjoy it!
There are now 5 bedrooms available for a total of 10 guests in beds.
What a site to behold! We walk out to the front porch and there come 10 horses riding past our B&B. Guests like to go trail riding and Always Riding Stables is just down the road. The owners are very friendly, and they take you on a 1.5 hr ride through the woods and quiet streets of the neighborhood. There route goes right in front of the bed and breakfast. They brought one group through this morning, and now another one.
It has been a wonderful day and a peaceful weekend. We have guests from Georgia and from India. Quite a contrast there. They are out enjoying Grandfather Mountain and The Crossnore School. With temperatures around 70 degrees, and no rain, you cannot ask for more.
We are almost finished with a new room we are adding to the B&B. It looks beautiful! My husband has worked really hard at getting it all finished in time for next weekend, because it is already rented!!! Now we will have a total of 5 rooms for guests.
We know it can be difficult to find “pet friendly” lodging. That is because we have 2 dogs ourselves. When we travel, we not only have to look for “pet friendly” hotels, B&Bs, or vacation rentals, but we also have to make sure they take not 1 but 2 dogs! That can be a real challenge, and certainly cuts down the choices to very very few. So, since we know our dogs are well behaved, crate trained and potty trained, we figure there must be others like ours that should be welcomed anywhere with open arms. As long as your dog[s] fits that criteria, they are welcome.
It is much nicer to share your vacation or weekend getaway with your dog. Especially out here where we are located, which is a nature lover’s paradise and has so much open space for dogs to run. They simply love it! They can go hiking with you almost anywhere, and there are restaurants with outside seating that allow you to bring your dog. And, should you chose to go to dinner in peace without dogs, you can leave your dog at the B&B.
We do have limitations. One time a would be guest wanted to stay in our smallest room with 4 dogs. For the sake and comfort of others, we simply could not allow that. Would love to, but we are not big enough for that. We did have a dog breeder stay with us once with about 8-9 dogs, however they spent the night crated inside her van. They behaved very well and slept quietly thru the night. Since it is always cool up here at night, they could stay in the van in the summer and not have to worry about the heat.
So for all you folks that want to take your dogs with you when you are looking to get away, come stay with us!
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